raising your voice
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John Trudell – a voice to be reckoned with
Today is a good day to read about John Trudell and listen to his work because we celebrate his 80th heavenely birthday. I first noticed John Trudell in 1992, the year he released a CD called AKA Grafitti Man. It was the wind and fury of "Rockin the Res", heard on the radio, that first stopped me in my tracks. His was a voice : almost conversational but somehow assertive. He seemed to be talking about life as he experienced it, but also something wider. And wilder. The tension and poetry made you sit up and listen, and the music made you want to dance even if you didn't know…
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The story of a speech disorchestrated
The prospect of speaking in public leaves nobody indifferent. There's no such thing as a perfect speech, we all know that. But we also know that accepting to stand up and speak means that anything can happen - for better or for worse. It makes you think, doesn't it? After all, our voice is us, it's our identity. For all these reasons, I have chosen to write about a recent experience I had speaking in public in front of quite a large audience where I completely lost my thread. For a brief instant I stammered, I stuttered and I spluttered. But I survived and, above all, I decided to take…
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Teenage student voices as part of a live news programme in class
We all know someone who doesn't like the sound of their own voice, and sometimes that someone is us. But what if the whole class works together on the recording of a live news programme with the teacher as presenter? Here is an example of a collaborative oral production which is engaging, challenging and gives everyone a chance to raise their voice.
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Why hearing your own voice is like looking at a selfie
If you don't like the sound of your own voice on a recording, that's because it's not the voice you hear when you speak. This article invites you to think of it as an audio-selfie : you can spend as long as you like wondering who is in a photo you've just taken of yourself which doesn't look right, it's definitely you. Time to take a listen in the mirror for a closer look at your voice.
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Words tripping off the tongue
Panicky about speaking in public or for an exam? If not, you probably know somebody who is. If you teach, ask people you have in class why public speaking, or simply oral expression, is so difficult for them. I did. They didn't mention fluency or accuracy. They said : "I don't like my voice." They said : "I am afraid of speaking in public." How can we use comments like these to create new teaching options? Let's help learners find a new connection with oral expression.
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Songsmith Steve Marriott exploring tenderness with Humble Pie
I only had one Humble Pie record in my collection. It was the single "Black Coffee", which I'd seen them perform on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The singer, Steve Marriott, was in great voice. Then I did something which happens so rarely now : I flipped it over to see what they put on the B-side. I was expecting another soulful rock tune and I got "Say No More", a song which stopped me in my tracks with its tenderness and desperation. This song opens the Songsmiths series about tunes which continue to play on our inner juke box.
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Benjamin Zephaniah, outspoken word artist
Benjamin Zepahaniah, British Carribean dub poet, actor, recipient of no fewer than 16 honorary doctorates, professor of poetry and creative writing, left us yesterday. Already gone, but his work lives on. He encouraged people to read and he made people listen. Here's one of his poems, Talking Turkeys, ready for use in the Subjective Classroom. Bon appétit!
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Teacher’s voice – friend or foe?
Teaching involves speaking in public. Beginning teachers often become aware of the sound of their voice for the first time in their lives in the classroom. But when we say "voice", which voice are we talking about? We all have several. In fact, we have a different voice for everyone we talk to. This post uses the example of preparing to tell a story in class, as a way of becoming more confident with your voice.
